Sunday, 18 October 2015

Here are a few more pics from our trip in April. Bellagio, on the banks of Lake Como, was probably our favourite holiday stop. DH and I both agreed that we could seriously consider retiring there.

You may have seen my earlier post (A Quiet Afternoon in Bellagio). The day after this post we went down into the town and criss-crossed Lake Como by ferry a couple of times. It was very cold but quite beautiful.

I didn't do much shopping in Bellagio but was fascinated by a small shop on the main shopping/waterfront strip, Maison Grandi. It had a selection of handmade lace from the early 1900s displayed in a stand-alone glass cabinet out the front of the shop. I was blown away by the beauty and intricacy of these pieces, and in awe of the makers.

Some of the pieces were for sale. If I remember correctly, even a small piece was worth about 600 Euros. I would have loved to have bought a piece but they were well out of my price range!

I did manage to buy some lovely pieces in Venice, but that's a story for another blog post.

Seeing all the incredible craftsmanship in Italy, whether in woodwork, mosaics, ceramics, paint or fabrics, really inspires me to try and continue the tradition and mastery of handmade work that our forebears were so good at.

I hope you've enjoyed these pics. I do have more to show you from our trip and hopefully will get time to do so before the end of the year.